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about

An email from LD dated Monday 11/2/1998 : “…in my mind, it’s sort of that revolting up-tempo country piano bar sing-along thing, because it’s just so hateful and nasty and gay and evil that it deserves to be desperately, frighteningly catchy!”

Well...I transported the “country” to the UK or somewhere in Europe, using the tuba to create the chord sequence and suggest the melody, which I still don’t exactly understand how I did that. Then, we had one hell of a day “wrangling” our many friends to come in to the studio and bring the entire piece together. It was quite the adventure, and when we were finished, we were crying our eyes out…from laughter, of course – CRX

lyrics

The queen’s heart’s bleeding over false line-readings
Of sighs and long goodbyes
The scribe is yearning for the enemies he’s earning
But he’ll take them all on the sly

Ask yourself three questions – Who? And what? And why?
Ask yourself these questions – Answer on the fly

Is the cowboy still smiling at the soldier, so beguiling
And his half-forgotten wife?
As it was in the beginning, still the dancers go on spinning
Ever closer to the knives

Ask yourself three questions – When? And where? And why?
Ask yourself these questions – Answer me, boy! Don’t be shy

England’s dreaming while the Pope is screaming
That the white knight told a lie
And Michael’s turning while Paris is burning –
But the revolution will not be televised

Ask yourself three questions – From whence? With whom? And why?
Ask yourself this question – Why does she even try?
Ask yourself these question – Answer me, boy! Don’t be shy

credits

from Never Again (a compendium), released November 10, 2010
Music by: Chris Xefos
Lyrics by: LD Beghtol (Nice Boys Music/ASCAP)

Chris Xefos – Tuba, lead & background vocals
LD Beghtol – Lead vocal
Dave Licht – Drums
Stephin Merritt – Ukulele, washboard, spring, background vocal
Lorin Sklamberg – Accordion, lead & background vocals
Frank London – Peck horn, cornet, horn arrangement
Claudia Gonson – Lead & background vocals
Joey Defilipps – Lead vocal
Kim Rancourt – Lead vocal

“Drunken” crowd vocals and miscellaneous solo vocal punctuations provided by: John Ashfield, Aldervan Daly, Chuck Fiorello, Andrew Friedman, Daniel Handler, James Jacobs, Alison Faith Levy, Lisa Levy & Melissa Newman

Recorded at Magnetic Recording by Chris Xefos and Motherwest NYC by Charles Newman
Mixed at Motherwest NYC by Charles Newman

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moth wranglers San Francisco, California

moth wranglers was a musical collaboration formed in 1998 by Chris Xefos (ex-King Missile), and LD Beghtol (Flare, The Magnetic Fields). In their decade-long involvement, the pair created music/recordings featuring their own talents alongside many noted guest rock/pop musicians/friends of an experimental and not so bent. moth wranglers disbanded in 2010. ... more

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